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Palmer: Back could keep Tiger from Nicklaus' record

ORLANDO – Tiger's back could keep him from catching Jack. That was Arnold Palmer's take Wednesday when asked if lingering back issues that forced world No. 1 Tiger Woods to withdraw Tuesday from the Arnold

ORLANDO – Tackling the twilight of his career with the same head-on approach that made him The King, Arnold Palmer said Wednesday prior to his tournament at Bay Hill that he faces back surgery in the next 30 days.

Palmer says he's "about a month away from having an operation on my back to help me enjoy the game a little more. And I will do that after the Masters and see if I can't just get a little more comfortable playing the game."

Yes, at 84, Palmer still wants to tee it up every day. Palmer battled back problems during his peak – "We called it a hip problem back then," he said – and was forced to withdraw from the PGA Championship in 1969. Palmer said he had many exams on his back over the years, including MRIs, and sympathizes with Tiger Woods.

The world's No. 1 player withdrew Tuesday from the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of back spasms that have troubled him since August. Woods hopes to play in the Masters in three weeks.

"Well, of course he didn't tell me how bad his back is," Palmer said about his call from Woods. "I don't think he knows how bad his back is. I think he's listening to the doctors. … He just feels that at this stage, he needs to take his time and rest, whether it's this week, next week or the following week, to get ready for Augusta. Certainly if I were in that position I'd be doing much the same."

Woods has been stuck on 14 majors since winning the 2008 U.S. Open, and now, at 38, his goal to catch Nicklaus' record of 18 could be derailed.

"I don't think 38 years is the ultimate stopping point for his quest to do what Jack did," Palmer said. "I think it lessens the possibility of that happening. It's going to be tough to keep the concentration and the type of game that is necessary to win majors.

"Add in the fact that (the depth of talent is) tough. And they're strong. … And the fear of a player being so good that they back off, I don't think that's the case anymore. I think that the players that are going to win and win major championships have to be physically fit and mentally fit."

The health of the iconic Eisenhower Tree at Augusta National could not be saved after a storm in February. No one outside of the National, including Palmer, knows if the tree has been replaced. But it will be missed.

"I played Augusta every year since that tree was a baby and I watched it grow up," Palmer said. "I had encounters with it. I won the Masters one year when I hit it right into the tree and hit a 4-iron from under the tree on to the 17th green. So it was a problem to everybody."

Including former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who petitioned for its removal.

"I played a lot of golf at Augusta with Ike. A couple of times he told me, 'Arnie, if I could hit that tree enough to bring it down, I'd do it,'" Palmer said. "The tree was a hazard, no question about it. In the early years it wasn't so much. I used to just whip it right over the tree. But now it's gone. … They could probably put another tree in there. I certainly think that Augusta has done more astounding things than just moving a tree."

Palmer touched on other topics:

On how Bay Hill is playing: "The players are testifying to the fact that (the golf course) is in great condition, maybe the best that it has been since we've had this tournament. The greens will be fast. They'll be running about 12, 13 on the Stimp, and they are in excellent condition throughout."

His thoughts on today's ball: "My opinion is that the golf ball needs to be slowed down. It's going too far. And these young people are getting stronger and stronger. And the equipment that they're building today enhances the ability to hit the golf ball far. We need to really get into the investigation of slowing the ball down. ... The USGA, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour are working to slow the ball down. How far they've gone, I can't answer that."

On what's it's like to have someone order an Arnold Palmer in front of him: "Well, I'm a little embarrassed. I'm happy they're ordering it. I just think that maybe I've created something that is fun. And it was fun for me. I have one or two every day and particularly when it's hot. When the guy says, 'I'll have a Palmer,' I don't think about it in first person. I think about, hey, thank you, have a couple."